


Cafe Date

by Hino



Category: Eddsworld - All Media Types
Genre: Fluff and then not fluff, Gen, cafe date, the others are mentioned in passing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-19
Updated: 2016-10-19
Packaged: 2018-08-23 09:41:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8323051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hino/pseuds/Hino
Summary: We’re going out to lunch. If you don’t comply, I’ll shoot everyone you hold dear. - Tord.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [JeanieChibi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/JeanieChibi/gifts).



> A lazy fic for my bae since they asked.  
> Hopefully it holds up.

They were words that made Edd shiver. His grip on the letter tightened as he grit his teeth, reading the rest of the instructions.

_If you wish to keep them alive, meet me at the small cafe on the end of the main street. We went there once before, if you remember. It was four of us back then. Now it’s just us two. If you try to bring the others, or warn them, they’ll be shot. The rooms are bugged, so I’ll know if you try. If you agree to come with me, and do not try anything, I’ll remove the microphones.  
Be there at noon, and no later._

“Why?” Edd found himself asking, scanning the letter again and again, trying to find some hidden meaning or ulterior motive. It just kept boiling down to the same idea; he wants to meet you.  
“Maybe an apology?” he mumbled, considering the idea as he set the letter down and moved towards the bathroom, hoping a warm shower would clear his thoughts. “He just struts in and goes ‘Wow I’m sorry for killing people, can I move back in?’ or something. No bloody way.”

 

The warm shower did nothing but make Edd’s anxiety about the situation get worse. His imagination ran wild as he dried himself off, showing him Tom’s dead body as he brushed his teeth. Matt’s mangled corpse appeared as he dressed himself. Even the thought of Eduardo and Mark dared to surface, dead and cold in god know’s where. He’d lost contact with them both, but knowing Tord, he’d know where the men were.

With a deep sigh, Edd shoved his phone into his pocket, coupled with his keys and wallet. The idea of taking the lucky cola can with him came up, seeing as it’d survived everything Tord had thrown at the house, but he pushed the idea away. No point making him suspicious of anything. Feeling everything was packed, Edd spared a look to the clock, biting his lip.  
Twenty minutes until Tord wanted him at that cafe.  
Quickly slipping on his shoes, he rushed out the door, pulling it closed behind him. He only managed to get halfway down the stairwell at a breakneck pace before he bumped into Matt, knocking him flat on his ass.

 

“Hi Edd!” Matt greeted from the floor, as if he hadn’t just been sent flying. “Where are you rushing off to?”

“Lunch!” he answered a little too fast, forcing a smile as he looked at the ginger on the floor. “I’m going to lunch with some friends.”

Matt’s eyes widened and a grin appeared on his face. “I’m a friend, can I come?” he asked, leaping to his feet and getting closer to Edd. “Can I come? I haven’t gone out in ages!”

Edd frowned. “Didn’t you have lunch out yesterday?”

Matt stopped for a moment, then shook his head. “Nope,” he replied, twiddling his thumbs like he always did when he lied. It was something that Edd had always found amusing about him, whether the fib be something tiny or catastrophic.

It took a great deal of effort to refuse but Edd shook his head. “I’m sorry,” He managed to say, watching Matt’s expression dip further. “I’ll bring you back something though,” he added, watching as the man perked up immediately. “A small slice of chocolate cake, and a milkshake.”

“Strawberry,” Matt cut in. 

His tone was serious, but Edd could only laugh at it. “Of course. I’ll see you later then.”  
Matt offered him a grin and a wave as he continued down the stairs, making it to the ground floor. Feeling relieved at persuading Matt not to come with him, Edd spared a glance at the lobby clock, feeling his blood chill as he took in the numbers.  
Ten minutes.

Edd had never run so fast.

 

The cafe was just down the street, in Edd’s line of sight. It was as if the whole world was against him on the journey there, every pedestrian crossing ended just as he arrived, blockades and protests marred his progress. By the time he’d come close to the meeting point, it was a minute to noon.

It was a long hard sprint to the cafe, and every second ticked by painfully fast, slipping away before Edd knew what was happening. The cafe doors were so close now, and the time was drawing near. With one last hard push, Edd burst through and into the building, breathless and exhausted. Patrons and staff stopped to stare at him, causing a crimson blush to settle on his cheeks. Almost everyone had their eyes on him, minus one person facing the back of the shop, reading a newspaper. His hoodie was the same red as it had always been, one sleeve torn and shredded, while the other was immaculate. His arm seemed to be bandaged up, but Edd knew.

That was Tord. 

Giving himself a moment to catch his breath, Edd slowly made his way over to the table, taking a seat opposite the man. He tried to muffle his panting, taking deep heavy breaths through his nose as he tried to calm his racing heart. Finally, when he felt like talking wasn’t going to make him keel over, Edd spoke.  
“Hello.”

“Hello,” came the soft reply. The newspaper was lowered and for a moment, Edd felt his breath catch in his throat. Tord’s face was scarred horribly, from what could even be seen of it. His eye was hidden beneath a white eyepatch, straps hooked over both ears but also taped into place for extra security. The bandages on his face wrapped around his forehead before slowly making their way down the right side of his cheek, being replaced with medical tape and other things Edd didn’t know about. It matched the bandages on his arm, and if Edd had to guess, he’d assume it ran down under his shirt too. “I can see you’re surprised.”

Tord’s words snapped Edd out of his daze, and the reality of the situation came crashing down. His face curled into a scowl, fists clenched in his lap as he tried to keep calm, lest he set the other off. “What do you want?”

“Straight to the point,” Tord commented, folding the paper and setting it down beside the coffee he’d ordered earlier. “I just wanted to see you.”

“See me? You threatened my friends, just to see me?” he asked, keeping his voice low but managing to hold anger. “Why would I want to see you?”

“You wouldn’t.”  
It was a short answer but it made Edd stop, eyes wide and jaw slack, waiting. “You wouldn’t want to see me, so I knew I had to find some way to convince you.”

The anger that had been welling came to a head, and Edd placed both hands on the table, ready to stand. His feet were firmly planted, and he’d just left the chair when a soft “Ah” from Tord made him stop. He thought he’d felt fear before, but it was nothing compared to now, seeing the look on the Norwegian’s face. “I don’t make empty threats,” he stated, pulling a small screen from his lap and setting it on the table, angling it so Edd could see. On it was Tom, strumming away at his bass. It was real, because the room he was playing in was in the new apartment. Still new and foreign, but enough like home that Edd liked it. 

Clenching his teeth, Edd sat back down, eyes glued to the screen.

 

He’d really done it. At most, Edd had been skeptical at Tord’s claims, but now he was watching secret camera footage of Tom. He pulled out his phone, pressed a few buttons, and waited. Sure enough, Tom’s phone vibrated, and he stopped playing to check.

“Do I want any cake?” Tom asked, reading the message. “Maybe... chocolate.” He began to tap and a moment later, Edd felt his phone vibrate. The message was just as he’d expected; a request for chocolate cake.

“Who else do you have?” he found himself asking, lifting his narrowed gaze to Tord who only watched him softly, as if admiring him. “Who else is depending on this meeting going well?”  
Tord looked to the screen again, pressing a button on the top. The image split into a grid, and he folded his hands, resting his chin while Edd looked at the small segments of video. Tom had been moved to the top left, placed beside Matt who seemed to be in the middle of painting something. Below those were streams of both Eduardo and Mark. They both seemed to be reading, sitting beside eachother on the couch. It made their videos rather boring, but knowing that they were both being watched made Edd feel sick. He didn’t like the neighbours, but they’d suffered enough because of him. “Where are they?”

“Apartment on the other side of town. They couldn’t stand being so close anymore,” Tord answered without any real meaning behind the words, simply stating it as fact.

Edd nodded in understanding, processing the information. “Why Jon?” he found himself asking, not realizing it until he heard the man across from him breathe in sharply.

There was silence between them, Tord looking down at his lap. Unease was crawling across his face, but when he looked up, it was replaced with a content smile. Edd clenched his fists, about to shout at the man, when the waitress approached, ready to note their order.  
“Are you ready to order?” she asked, looking at them both.

“I’ll have another coffee, and a ham sandwich. How about you, Edd?” Tord looked to him with a friendly smile, as if nothing had changed between him leaving and now. “A gallon of coke?”

“And some cake. Strawberry, chocolate, and banana,” Edd commented, feeling embarrassed as Tord raised his one eyebrow at him. “Look, it just tastes good.”

The Norwegian raised his hands in a placating gesture. I’m not judging,” he said calmly. “I just didn’t think you’d be interested in it.” The smile on his lips was caring, and for a moment, Edd forgot everything that had happened. It just felt so comforting to be here, with his old friend. Even with all the bandages covering him, it was like nothing had changed. He was still the old Tord.

 

As the waitress moved away, the falseness of the situation followed. Edd felt his determination come back in full, gaze steady as he met Tord’s own. “Why Jon?” he asked again, knocking any of the joy Tord felt out of the meeting. His frown returned in full, and Edd almost felt bad for it. “They weren’t a part of it. Your problem was with us. Why drag the neighbours into it?”

“It was an accident,” came the answer, serious and flat. “I blew up their house, and that was on purpose. Misguided, but intentional. But Jon was...” Tord paused and took a breath. “That was not part of the plan. Honestly, I-” 

He was cut off as Edd raised his hand. “I don’t want a sob story, or to be asked for forgiveness. I have my answer.” His face was stony cold, making Tord shift uncomfortably. “So I’ll ask you again, what do you want?”

 

Just because he was there against his will, didn’t mean Edd wasn’t going to push. Tord pulled a phone from his pocket and pressed a few buttons before holding it to his left ear, seeing as it was the only uncovered one. “Paul. Aim at Matt.”  
On the screen, a red dot entered Matt’s camera, settling on the man’s forehead. He was too busy to notice or care, but Edd certainly did. “You should be more polite,” Tord commented, voice low. “You’re in no place to bargain with me.”

Edd took a deep breath, teeth clenched. He was at Tord’s mercy here, and he felt himself try and appease him. “So, why did you want to meet up today?” he asked, trying his damndest to sound polite. Tord seemed to like it. “It’s been so long, what do you want to talk about?”

“At ease,” Tord said. At those words, the red dot left Matt’s camera, vanishing without a trace. Edd sighed in relief, slumping in his chair. It made the Red Leader smile.“I want to know what I missed,” he answered simply. “You took me on the adventures, sure, but they weren’t the same. What happened in those eight years?”

“Is that all you want to know?” Edd asked.

“At the moment,” Tord replied.

 

And so he explained it all, about why Matt forgot Tord, how the ginger had become king of everything, that they’d been abducted, that the neighbours had a vendetta against them until Edd and Eduardo duked it out in the sky. He spoke of the halloweens and christmases past, how they’d grown closer and helped both Zanta and Santa. The whole time Edd spoke, Tord listened intently, lips upturned in a soft smile, eyes settling on the other, watching as he gave grand gestures to punctuate his statements. Sometimes, for a brief moment, he’d glance to the screen on the desk, making sure nobody had come looking for Edd, but after that, he’d be right back to watching his former friend explain the years he’d missed. Even the bits of history that contained Tom didn’t make Tord uneasy, simply listening as if he’d just been away from the week and was being filled in on their antics.

They only paused when the waitress came, setting down Tord’s coffee and sandwich, alongside three containers of cake. The tense atmosphere of earlier was long gone, the screen on the table soon becoming a distant memory as Tord began to question the adventures, only to receive more ridiculous answers. Sometimes, Edd’s voice would falter, catching sight of a red laser sight lazily dragging itself along Tom’s floor, or on Eduardo’s wall, tracing their outlines. He forced himself past it though, knowing that if he stopped, the red spot would most likely settle on the people it was toying with.

By the time Edd had finished explaining it was three. His eyes widened as he looked at the time, utterly surprised they’d been talking for so long. “I should be going. Matt might be worried. I only said I’d be out for lunch.”

Tord looked up with him, gaze narrow for a moment, before relaxing. “It’s fine, we’ve spoken long enough.” He stood too, turning off the small screen and putting it in his pocket.

“You know... I really did want you to move back in,” Edd commented as he began to stack the cake boxes on top of eachother, standing as he did. “Tom was angry, yeah, but I wanted to try and find a compromise. So we could go back to how it was...”

“It wasn’t going to happen. Not with how long I’d been gone, the way I left, and with my plans.” Tord’s face was lowered, trying not to meet his old friend’s eyes. “I wanted to stay, but I couldn’t. Still can’t. I’ve done too much now.”

“I just have one thing to ask.” The words were strong, catching Tord off guard, and forcing him to look at Edd. “Never touch my friends again. Don’t talk to them, look at them, or threaten them like this.” 

It was an admirable, defensive anger on Edd’s face. That burning passion to protect what he cared for. Once, Tord would have loved it. Now it was like a sharp knife, twisting in his gut and reminding him of what he’d lost. “I’ll leave, but somehow, my plans will bring me back here.”

“I’ll shoot you,” Edd retorted sharply, moving past Tord and heading towards the door.

Tord merely turned, letting his eye settle on the brunette’s back. “I hope you do.”

Edd stopped and span around to try and speak again, but Tord was already out the cafe’s back exit, lost among the afternoon crowd. The mishmash of the day’s emotions was overwhelming, and he sucked in a breath, letting it out slowly before heading towards the front doors, ready for the walk home. With a hand on the door’s glass, he paused, thinking.  
_Milkshake,_ his brain helpfully supplied.  
“Right.” 

 

The moment he entered the apartment complex, all the anxiety and concern that had boiled up on the walk home vanished. A smile appeared on Edd’s lips as he took the lift to his floor, heading straight to his room. Sparing only a moment to get his keys, he slipped them in and opened the door.

“Home sweet home,” he sighed with relief, placing the cakes on the small table beside the door. Dropping his keys next to the boxes, Edd stumbled lazily towards the couch, stopping as a small black spot on the carpet caught his gaze. “I swear I vacuumed yesterday,” he mumbled as he approached, picking it up. It was a small disc, as big as his thumbnail, but it only took a moment for him to realize what it was. With barely any effort, Edd crushed the camera disc between his fingers, moving into the kitchen to toss it. As he opened the bin, a red dot danced inside, making him pause. Slowly turning to look out the window, he could faintly see someone on a nearby building waving. Edd gave a slow wave back, feeling faint.

The snipers were real.

“You never half assed anything,” Edd managed to comment, fighting the urge to be sick. Moving away from the window, he aimed for the couch, ready to flop down and just forget everything that’d happened when his phone vibrated. He pulled it out lazily, half expecting a text from Tord.

Instead, he was greeted with _“Did you actually get some cake or is this some tease because I offered you a coke last week and forgot?”_

Tom’s message put Edd at ease. With a roll of his eyes, he grabbed the boxes, along with Matt’s milkshake, and headed back out into the hall. Feeling at ease, Edd knocked on both Tom and Matt’s doors, treats at the ready. They both answered with irritation but immediately brightened up as Edd practically shoved the cake slices into their hand. Matt snatched the milkshake from Edd’s hands, making the man laugh as he wiped the condensation that had covered his hand onto his pants. Contented with his dose of sweets, Matt suggested a movie night with a mouthful of food while Tom nominated his place for said movie night. Edd agreed, leaving him with the movie choice.

He quickly headed back to his apartment, mind full of movie suggestions, although they all left as he saw the small box atop his television. “What...”  
Edd approached nervously, opening the box with hesitation. Inside was a slice of banana cake along with a note that simply read, ‘You said you liked it’.

Edd picked up the box, looking at the treat for a moment as he moved into the kitchen. For a second, he paused at the cutlery drawer, before turning around and opening the bin again, dropping it inside. The lid shut with a satisfying clang, and Edd quickly hurried over to the stack of dvds, eager to find something for them to watch.

 

Across on the rooftop, Paul lowered his scope. “He didn’t take it,” he said, turning his head to the man beside him. “What now, Sir?”  
It was a sharp order, unwavering and strong.

“We leave."


End file.
